Legal Dilemmas

By  Okpoko Orobosa and Ifeanyi Ogbodo   Introduction The relationship between indigenous/traditional knowledge and intellectual property law is a complicated contemporary legal problem. Although intellectual property was fashioned during the age of industrialisation of the West and was subsequently developed in line with the needs of societies that are technologically advanced, the need for indigenous traditional knowledge systems protection has become heightened leading to demands for its protection as well as the recognition of its importance in cultural identities. Its importance has also been linked to such issues as peoples’ health, food security and affordable treatment. Questions around indigenous knowledge protection present issues unlike any other that intellectual property law has had to consider. Indigenous peoples’ concerns include legal questions involving copyright, patents, trademarks, designs and/or confidential information. They also raise iss...